1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which prints print data received from an external device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a printing apparatus which holds print data in a print server or the printing apparatus, and outputs a print product in response to a user operation on an operation unit of the printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A printing system is generally known to hold in a printing apparatus or print server print data transmitted from an external device such as a personal computer (PC), and print the print data in response to a user operation performed on an operation panel of the printing apparatus. Such a printing process is generally referred to as “reservation printing.”
The above-described reservation printing system is configured so as to print the print data held when a user enters a password or performs user authentication on an operation screen of the printing apparatus.
Such a system is effective particularly in a case where, for example, the printing apparatus is a shared printer connected to a network, and the print product is not intended to be seen by other people.
Reservation printing has been achieved in diverse ways by various vendors. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-195704 discusses a technique for attaching a password to print data by using a PC, transmitting the passworded print data to a printing apparatus, and printing the print data when a password which is the same as the one attached to the print data is entered from an operation panel of the printing apparatus. Such a reservation printing method may be referred to as secured printing, confidential printing, private print, and so on.
Another example method for achieving reservation printing is to hold print data in a print server in association with a user, perform user authentication by holding up an integrated circuit (IC) card on a printing apparatus, and in response to the user authentication, print the print data owned by the user.
As described above, with a certain reservation printing method, the print server connected to a network holds print data, and in response to a user operation on the printing apparatus, the printing apparatus receives the print data from the print server, and then prints it (this printing process is referred to as server reservation printing).
With another certain reservation printing method, the printing apparatus holds passworded print data, and in response to reception of a password input from a user on the printing apparatus, the printing apparatus prints the print data (this printing process is referred to as passworded print data printing).
If a password is attached to the print data held in the print server, two user operations are required on the printing apparatus side. One is a user authentication operation necessary to receive the print data from the print server, and the other is an operation for entering a password.